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All About Christmas

December 9, 2015

Written byCuriosity Staff

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Though his ubiquity is easily taken for granted, Santa Claus as we know him (white beard, red suit) didn't come onto the scene until about 1900. You can thank Coca-Cola, which used the modern-day Santa in a 1930s ad campaign, for popularizing the jolly, toy-giving figure that prevails today. Prior to that campaign, there were many incarnations of Santa, from a tall, gaunt man to an impish elf. Even today, depictions of Santa can vary. In the Netherlands, for instance, St. Nick is thin, wears a bishop's robe and hat, and rides a horse named Amerigo.